It's Been a Long Week

On my way to work this morning, I stopped at the new little coffee shop in the Winn-Dixie Plaza. It's called "Cuppy's". I got an Iced Vanilla Mocha Latte. It was pretty good, but you can buy a box of the little packets of General Foods International Cappuccino Coolers and make them yourself for a lot less money. I used skim milk with mine and they are really good. I'll go back and try their hot coffees and smoothies, but I'll make my own iced coffees.

I had a lot of work to do because I got behind trying to help test the new system this week. I sure hope they get the bugs worked out before we have to go on it full time. Both systems were experiencing some problems this morning. As a matter of fact, something has happened to most of our computer programs. They even lost some of the data that was entered. IT is working to recover it. I haven't heard exactly what happened, but something really out of the ordinary has happened. I wonder if somebody hacked into our computers??

We have a cat that's been hanging out at work. For about three weeks, I thought I heard a cat meow when I was alone in my office, but I never could see one. I thought I was just imagining it. Fran and Kim have seen this cat and one of the guys caught him Monday. They found out he has been neutered and de-clawed. That's not good for a cat out in the wild. He can't hunt for food or protect himself. Fran has been sending crackers and stuff with Walter to feed him. I just found out about him and finally saw him as I was leaving for lunch. I went to Winn-Dixie and bought some little cans of cat food and a bag of dry food. I put out one of the cans in a bowl, but never saw him eat it. It was gone, though, so I'm sure he ate it. Before I left work, I poured a good bit of dry food in a bowl and put it up near our door out of the rain. If I've heard him meowing near my office, I'm sure he'll find it over the weekend. Hopefully, next week I can coax him into my office. We're trying to find a home for him. I'd take him if we didn't have two dogs. I don't think they would like a cat around the house. Vance isn't too keen on cats anyway. We're hoping Walter will take him. His little dog died a few weeks ago and he and his wife need another pet. He doesn't want a dog, but maybe he'll take the cat.

I got a dinner from the deli at Winn-Dixie. It was good, but I could only eat about half of it. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning. Just wasn't hungry. I did eat a small piece of cake around 9:30. I gave Kim the rest of my lunch to take home. It looked like I hadn't even touched it. Yeah, I'm not eating, but I'm sure not losing any weight either. That's because my metabolism is way too slow. Every thing I put in my mouth turns to fat. I'm trying to do a little exercise, but not a full routine yet. I'm going to try to get out one of my exercise tapes tomorrow and start exercising. Maybe I should do it first thing in the morning before I start cleaning house. I'll be too tired after doing all I have to do.

We had another good rain at our house this afternoon. As long as we don't lose anymore limbs, I don't mind the rain. We need it so bad. I think we are supposed to have afternoon showers from now until next Friday. That's fine with me.

Got to meet my boss's family this afternoon. His wife and two kids are precious. He will be off next week on vacation. A lot of our people will be on vacation. Not me. I'll be right there working, except on Wednesday.

Came home and worked on the booklet I'm making of the church anniversary special we had Sunday. I've got the pictures all together, but haven't typed up any captions. I'm thinking of leaving off the captions and letting those involved in the celebration write whatever they want to write on the pages. Then, I'll make a copy of that and make the final booklet to present to Pastor Sammy and Mrs. Sandi.

Mrs. Sandi emailed me today and asked if I'd like to help teach the Jr. High kids. I just don't think I can do it. I've got so much going on in my personal life that I don't think I could devote enough quality time to prepare. I asked her to see if she could find somebody else. I wouldn't mind stepping in if they need help every once in awhile, but I just can't see myself doing it full time.

Aunt Rose called me tonight. She was supposed to have surgery on Wednesday, but they found out she had an infection in her body so they wouldn't do the surgery. It will be postponed for a couple of weeks. I need to go visit her. She's my favorite aunt on Daddy's side of the family.

I need to go to bed, but I ate fried fish from Captain D's around 9:00. The guy that waited on me is an older black gentleman with a voice that should be in movies or radio. He has the nicest voice and manners I have ever heard. You just want to hang around and talk to him. He would make an excellent DJ. His voice is the type you could listen to all day and never get tired of hearing it. There are not too many people I can say that about, but this man has that kind of voice. And, he is a true Southern gentleman.

I think I will scan some photos before I go to bed.

Goodnight and God bless...................

Trouble with Computers

We got to work this morning and found out most of our computer programs were experiencing technical difficulties (to say the least). Most of them were down. I was supposed to enter time on our new timekeeping program between 10:00 and 11:00. Well, I tried. I got one timesheet in and started on another one. I hit SAVE and got an invalid account message. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had made five entries all to the same account number. The first three were showing invalid and the next two were fine. I had to go back in and correct the ones showing invalid even though they weren't invalid. I tried to input the next timesheet and the system shut down. Kept trying, but never got anymore timesheets completed. If this is the way the system is going to work, we're in big trouble. I can see myself working eight hours at the office and at least eight hours at home trying to get the time in. Not a very good system we've got going here...... I feel sorry for the locations that have totally switched to the new system and can't use the old one as backup. Tomorrow is timesheet day (when we have to have the last pay period entered). If they continue to have the problems I've had all week, I can see them working a lot of overtime.

Went to Captain D's at lunch and got a Parmesan Scampy Chicken dinner. It was good, but as usual, I couldn't eat but about half of it. I did eat a small piece of cake at a reception we had for one of our employees who will be leaving us next week to join her husband at his new job out of state. But, I really didn't want that.

Had to take Daddy to the doctor. He's doing okay, but doesn't get any sleep because of the pain in his legs. Doctor put him on REQUIP to see if that would help. We dropped off his prescriptions then went to the grocery store. I bought him some groceries, took him home, put the groceries up and went back to the drugstore. His meds were supposed to be ready, but they weren't. I went inside and sat down and had to wait at least 45 more minutes. Daddy was supposed to be at the VFW in a pool tournament. He's got to defend his 9-ball championship. I finally got him there at 6:30. I'm sure they waited on him because he's the draw. People come to see if they can beat him. There aren't very many people who can. I finally got home around 7:30.

Watched "Braveheart" for the first time tonight. I don't usually like those kinds of movies, but I couldn't stop watching it. It was a very good movie. Mel Gibson was great in the movie. I've always liked his acting. I kept seeing similarities in the movie to "The Passion of the Christ". Didn't he write or direct both movies?

Didn't think I was going to get my computer to come up tonight. We had a storm come through while I was at work and it knocked the power off. My computer was very slow to come up. I guess I need to crawl under my desk and unplug it every night so it won't get hit by lightning or mess up when the lights go out. You just never know in Florida when a storm is going to pop up.

I'm really tired and I've got a bad headache, so I'm going to bed. I must have been snoring last night, cause Vance kept poking me in the back with his elbow until I finally got up and moved to the couch. I asked him about it tonight and he doesn't remember. Yeah, right!

Goodnight and God bless....................

Why Do Dogs Drink From the Toilet?

Can anybody answer that question? Why is it that dogs pass up a clean bowl of water and head for the bathroom to drink out of a not-so-clean toilet? My dogs do it all the time. They will come inside, pass up their water bowl and head for the bathroom. I just don't understand.........

As I was driving to church tonight, I saw a huge dog just laying in someone's driveway. So, I assume it is a nice dog since it wasn't behind a fence or chained up. I've never seen this dog before. I pass the house at least twice a day cause it's only three blocks down my street. Never have I ever seen any kind of animal in their yard. This dog looked like a cross between a German Shepherd and a St. Bernard. It looked like a shepherd, but was the size of a St. Bernard. Huge dog. They have small kids, so I'm guessing it's a very mild, mannered dog. But, you won't see me going in their yard any time soon.

Today was our regular safety meeting. It was actually a good one today. We got to see how some crooks are growing marijuana in $350,000 houses (and above). What an operation! They have everything automated - even the lights are on tracks and move back and forth over the plants. This presentation was to show our linemen and meter readers how to spot these types of houses. Our local police found one at exclusive Bay Point Resort after one of the plants grew too tall, died and the lights caught it on fire. It burned the house down. :)

But, what was really interesting was the theft at one of our warehouses in Destin. It seems a white (stolen) Suburban with black trailer attached, drove onto our property. There were two white males and one white female. One of the men and the woman walked into the office and talked to several of the employees who were in the break room eating lunch. They told them they were American Indians and they had some trinkets they wanted to sell. While they kept the group entertained, the other man got on the forklift and loaded up a reel of 1000MCM copper wire. A full reel is worth over $34,000. This was a partial reel, so it was worth about half that price. He was going back for a second reel when an employee told him to get off the forklift. The man said he had been authorized to get the wire and said he'd show the employee the paperwork. He went to the SUV. While the employee was talking to him and had his back turned, the other two stole the keys out of his truck, jumped into the SUV and took off. This happened Monday around 11:30. They were on our property for over 40 minutes. Can you believe the guts they had to steal from a company with employees watching? We haven't caught them yet. People are getting very brave when it comes to stealing.

Kim and I tried out another new restaurant today at lunch. It's called Sweet Tease. It has coffee, sandwiches, quiches, pasta dishes and some of the best looking desserts you've ever seen. We had a really good Cuban sandwich, red skinned potato salad and chips. Neither one of us could eat it all. Both of us steered clear of the sweets. It is definitely a "sweet tease" cafe. But, I would go back there. Would love to go for breakfast one Saturday. You know it's good when the CSI (or CSU in our town) go there to eat.

After lunch, we went to a used furniture store to look around. I had bought a Duncan Fife dining room table from there this year and Kim was looking for a dining room suite and some end tables. Nothing struck her fancy, so we went back to work. Got back just in time before the rain started falling. Yesterday afternoon, a woman was struck and killed by lightning pretty close to where I live. She was out working in her yard and got struck before it ever started raining. This time of year, you have to be careful. Especially, on the golf course.

Guess I better head off to bed. Goodnight and God bless...................

We Have One Expensive Tree!

Yesterday, we got an estimate on how much it would cost to cut down the oak tree that is next to our house and is dropping huge limbs. I did not realize how expensive it is to cut down trees. Are you ready for this? It will cost $2000 to cut the tree down. (And that is with a discount because Mark used to work with me and he said he'd give me a discount.) I was ready to borrow against a couple of CD's I have at the Credit Union and have it done immediately before we have a big storm come through. But, Vance has decided he can do it himself. I don't think he knows what he is getting himself into. He said he would rent one of those lifts and cut the limbs off. Okay, so who's going to snatch them away from the house before they fall on it? At least, if Mark's crew damages the house, they are bonded and they will pay. If Vance does the damage, our insurance may not pay; or if it does, they will cancel us in a heartbeat. Then, where will we get insurance? I'm sick about this, but I don't dare go against his wishes. After all, he is the man of the house.

Had my mammogram yesterday. The doctor said it looked okay. Praise God for that! Made an appointment to go see my ENT to see about scheduling surgery to remove the bone spur in my left sinus. I think it has gotten bigger. Was supposed to have surgery last April, but I conveniently forgot to schedule it. Had too many other people to take care of. The left side of my face stays swollen and it hurts all the time. Not bad pain, but a dull pain all the time. I go see the doctor on Monday. Will probably have to have another MRI to see how big it has gotten, then talk about surgery. I am not looking forward to it. I'm really praying that they can do the surgery on a Thursday or Friday and I can go back to work the following Monday. That way, nobody will have to fill in for me. Everybody is just so overworked as it is; I would hate to add to their misery.

Had to take Daddy for bloodwork this morning. I'm supposed to have bloodwork, too, but could not find the paperwork. I'll have to go see my doctor tomorrow and get another order. The clinic where Daddy goes had it's own lab, but it is closed for two weeks, so we had to go to Bay Medical. Since we got there early, I was able to find a parking space after dropping Daddy off. I could have parked in the handicap parking since I have Mama's car and sticker, but I just can't make myself do that. Even though Daddy has a hard time walking; I still just drop him off at the door and go find a parking space. There are real handicapped people who need those slots.

Yesterday and today, I have been inputting time on the new timekeeping system to test it for the development team. Had a lot of problems. It is way slower than the system we are on now and not as user friendly. Today, I only input 9 timesheets from 10:30 to 3:30. That's not good - not good at all. I kept having to jump back and forth from the new system to the old one. Account numbers would not validate in the new system, but they would in the old. I sent an email to one of the team members letting her know the problems I found. We are due to go full-time in August. I just don't see it happening unless they do some major changes. I think I'm the only one at our company who has even tried to input time. The other companies are so different from us and there are more of them than there are of us, so the system was mainly built to handle their situations. It needs to be tweaked to be able to handle us. I won't be able to work with it the rest of this week, cause I am already behind because the new system takes so much longer. I'll try again the first of next week.

We'll find out next month if any of us in Power Delivery lose our jobs. They are doing a re-structuring and the email seemed to hint that some people would no longer have jobs. I think they should start at the top and get rid of some of the supervisory personnel and leave the ones who really do the work alone. We are already so shorthanded that we can't ever get caught up. I'm not worried about my job. God gave me this job. (My original job came open in January of 1970. They interviewed dozens of women before me. I had never worked anywhere before. I came straight out of high school and was hired in July. Tell me God didn't give me this job.) He protected me 12 years ago when they were talking about doing away with my job. (Two Vice Presidents told me I would not have a job in another year. I've been there 12 more than they said I would.) If He means for me to stay, then I'll stay. But, if He is done with me in this job, He will open up a bigger door for me to walk through. So, why worry? I know Who takes care of me.

Last night, I downloaded my 6800+ pictures onto 17 CD's. I should not have done it last night. That's a job that should be done on the weekend when you have plenty of time. I was up until after 1:00 waiting for it to finish. And last night, I could have fallen asleep around 10:00. I still haven't hooked up the external drive that I bought to backup my computer. I need to figure it out and do it this weekend. Especially, get the stuff off my old computer. It has all my family tree info on it.

Had to go grocery shopping for Mama when I got off work. She was out of a few things. Had a nice visit with her because Karen called and said we weren't having practice tonight. That was fine with me. I was tired.

Chris (neighbor and co-worker) came over late this afternoon and cut up the limb in the backyard. He wanted the wood for his fireplace. He hauled the limbs across the street for the garbage trucks to pick up. It would probably have been another week before Vance could do it. He just put his chainsaw in the shop today.

Well, guess I better get to bed. Early morning safety meeting tomorrow.

Goodnight and God bless................

Homecoming Sunday

I am so thankful that the A/C is working. I had to sleep on the couch in front of the fan because it took so long for the house to cool down after being 100 degrees most of the day. But, I actually woke up and grabbed for a throw. It was a little chilly. Felt so good!

Today was the 17th Anniversary of our church. We had a lot of visitors and a lot of talent revealed itself. We had praise and worship, then many, many specials. We have some very talented people in our church. The Children's Choir sang a couple of songs and it was really cute. The two songs they sang were "Bullfrogs and Butterflies" and "Little by Little". They did a great job. Trent was the only boy singing with them. He told me he was very nervous, but he didn't let that stop him.

There were so many wonderful skits and songs. I was taking pictures (of course), so I'll post them in the next few days to my Picasa website. I haven't even downloaded them from my cameras yet.

After church, we had a scrumptious meal. An over-abundance of good food. Needless to say, I didn't prepare anything. I wasn't about to turn on the stove and add more heat to the house yesterday. I would have gone and gotten something, but I was there early for practice and was taking pictures up till the time we went over to eat. I wasn't planning on eating, just taking more pictures. I stayed at the end of the line and when I got inside, there was still more food than all of us could eat. So, I ate. Not much, cause I wasn't very hungry. I did have a taste of peach cobbler. It was so good. I passed on the ice cream to go over it. Allisha came and asked me if I would take pictures July 13th at Jasmine's wedding. I told her I didn't do that anymore. I just can't handle the stress of a wedding with all that's going on in my life right now. Maybe in a few years, I'll start taking them again.

Even eating the small amount I did, I was miserable when I got home. All I wanted to do was take a nap. Vance told me to make out a grocery list before I layed down. Now, how can I think of food when I was so miserable. I couldn't. I just put a few things on there and told him to get whatever he thought he wanted to eat the rest of the week. He does most of the cooking anyway. God love him for that, cause I sure do!

I took a nap, woke up, rolled over and went back to sleep. Just couldn't get comfortable. Finished reading the Michael English book. I never knew he had such a horribe time with drugs after his affair. But, he's really back with the Lord and doing what he does best - sing. I've got to find the CD's that he's made recently. I've got most of them and I really love his music. It was good to see some of the Christians that never gave up on him. No matter how bad a person is, we should never give up on them, cause God loves them no matter what.

After the Nascar race, a movie came on starring Robert Redford. It was called "The Last Castle". I had never seen it before and Vance was watching it, so I started watching it, too. It was about a military prison. Normally, I would have changed the channel to something else when Vance went to bed, but it held my attention. I watched it through to the end. It was a good movie. I know the men would really like it.

I guess I'll upload the pictures to my computer before I go to bed. Have a blessed week and always keep us in your prayers.

Goodnight and God bless....................

Way Too Hot For Me!!!

Had bad heartburn last night because of the fried food I ate for supper. How quickly I forget that I can have fried and spicy food for lunch, but not for supper if I want to sleep. I was only in bed one hour before I had to get up and move to the couch and practically sit up to sleep.

I was awake at 6:00 and got up around 7:00. Why can't I sleep late on Saturdays? Vance went to play golf around 8:30, so I got up and ate a bowl of cereal. Only ate half of it and I love Grape Nuts. Just wasn't hungry.

I started cleaning my computer room. It had clothes stacked everywhere, because my chests were in the garage. I put the clothes on the bed, went through my closet to get out clothes that Tabitha's mom can wear. I'm slowly finding people that I can give my clothes to that no longer fit. I just hate to give them to Goodwill and have them sold to people. I managed to fill up a huge garbage bag. Yeah! Slowly, but surely, I'll get my closet cleaned out and be able to hang clothes in there that I can wear.

Penny called around 11:00 and asked me if I could watch Swayde while she went and had her hair done. I told him to bring him on over. He's good. I can leave him in the dining room with coloring books, toys and the TV on cartoons and he's fine. She brought him over around 11:30. He went directly to the dining room and asked me to turn on the TV. I got him a coloring book and crayons and went back to cleaning. It was hot in the computer room. I would have to go sit on the couch in front of the fan to cool off. I thought it was because of the computer running and how small the room is. It always seems to be hotter in there then any other room in the house.

Penny called around 12:30 to tell me she was still there. I had told her it would take at least two hours, but she thought it would only be one, cause the girl did Tiffaney's hair last week in only one hour. She called around 2:30 and was just leaving. I asked her to stop by Sonic and get me some tea. She asked if I wanted something to eat. Since I hadn't eaten anything since that little bit of cereal, I said just get whatever she was getting. She got here around 3:00 and we were eating when Vance came in. He walked over to the thermostat and said "It's hot in here." Now, for Vance to say it's hot, it is really hot. I just thought it was because I was working that I had gotten hot.

Penny's hair is different. It's real dark on the bottom and has lighter streaks on the top. It will take some getting used to. She's not too thrilled with it right now. I really expected it to be much more drastic, so it's not too bad to me. I believe it will lighten up the more she washes it.

After Penny left, Vance told me to call Dexter and see if he could come over and check out the A/C. I had to call Tabitha to get his number. He was real nice and said he'd be over in a little while. By this time, it was getting real hot. Even the fan couldn't cool me off.

I had to go run an errand for Sarah from church. She asked me to go by the Bread Basket and get a Pastor Appreciation card for tomorrow. It's our homecoming/anniversary. She was going to be at the church all day practicing and then cleaning, so I told her I'd be glad to go. It was so hot, I really was glad to get in an airconditioned car and go. I went to the BB and it was closed. That's unusual, cause it stays open till 6:00 on Saturdays and it was only 4:30. That meant I had to drive to the mall to the Family Christian Store. While I was there, I asked if they had a CD by Tammy Trent. I had heard her a couple of times on TBN give her testimony and heard her sing and I like her music. It's mostly real upbeat. They just happened to have one ("I See Beautiful") and it had one of my favorites on it "At the Foot of the Cross". If you haven't heard her testimony, got to www.TammyTrent.com/ and check out her web page. I think you can even hear her music.

While I was at the bookstore, I found a book by Michael English "The Prodigal Comes Home". It's about his life, his music, his indiscretions and how God has redeemed him. I've always loved his music. I've photographed two of his concerts and met him both times. That was right before the fall. It was awful to see most of the Christian community turn their backs on him. But, God never turned His back. And there were wonderful Christian people who were there for him. I bought the book and started reading it. It broke my heart when I found out he had been molested when he was young. And, he came from a real hard family who only put him down and said he'd never amount to anything. I've always been ministered to by his music, especially "In Christ Alone" and "I Bowed on My Knees and Cried Holy." Beautiful songs. I'm glad he's still singing. I wonder if he's put out anymore CD's. I'll have to find out. One thing that I always found funny was that Michael always chewed gum when he sang. I noticed it the first concert cause I was right below the stage in the orchestra pit taking pictures. I'll never forget that first concert. He was a little late and when he came in he apologized and told us he had gotten a call that Rich Mullins had been killed in an auto accident and he asked us to stop right then and pray for the family. That really touched me. You could tell he was upset. They were pretty close.

I got back home and the house was really hot. Dexter came and found out it was the condenser. He went and got a part and brought it back and replaced it. The house is still warm, but it's slowly cooling off.

I think I'll go in the living room and get in front of the fan. No, maybe I'll go take a cold shower first. Then, I'll curl up on the couch and read a little before I go to bed while my hair dries a little.

Goodnight and God bless...................

Friday at Last!

Boy, this week has flown by. They say time flies when you're having fun. I didn't realize I was having so much fun. :) Stopped and got my 44oz. sweet tea this morning on the way to work. I swear those girls see my car turn in and they start pouring the tea. I was still at the ordering post when the girl brought it to me. She just passed up about five cars in front of me and headed straight for me. I think they like me cause I always give them a $1.00 tip. It makes for an expensive drink, but they have to make a living. They are out in the heat, rain, cold, etc. At least we could all give them a little extra to go with their small salary.

Yeah, Kim was at work this morning! We had our coffee and few minutes of sharing time before I headed back to my office to work. Went over to the Credit Union to get some money and showed Fran pictures of the tree limb that fell in our backyard. That really upset her. She knows where the tree is and she said she wouldn't rest until we got it cut down. I went back to Kim's office and got Mark's number so I could call him to come give me an estimate. Since it was time for lunch, Kim and I decided to try out another restaurant we haven't been to - Chula's. It's a Mexican Restaurant. It was pretty good, but I still haven't found one that could beat the old Taco Tex that used to be here. They had the best Super Chili Burritos I have ever eaten. Even the authentic Mexican Restaurants aren't that good. Vance knows. He's had them before. We only ate half of our meal. I had not eaten anything all morning, but I just wasn't very hungry. Am I losing weight? No, cause I'm not eating enough. My metabolism is probably that of a snail, so every little thing I eat turns into fat. Do I know what to do about it? Yes, but when you're not hungry, you just don't want to eat.

I called and left a message with Mark's answering service that I needed a tree cut down. Chris, our neighbor across the street offered to come over and help cut up the tree. He has two fireplaces and he could use the wood. Hey, that's fine with me. Vance still hasn't gotten his chainsaw to work. Looks like he's going to have to put it in the shop.

Some of the guys came in to my office and were talking about all kinds of different things and we got to laughing so hard I thought the manager in the front office could surely hear us. It was all clean stories - things that have happened on the job. We should all get together and write a book "As the Meter Turns". I think it would be a best seller; possibly a TV show. No, we would only allow clean stories - no sex, no violence. That would never make it on TV.

My life coach called to see how I was doing since she talked to me three months ago. I had to tell her the truth - that I weigh more now than when I was talking to her before; that I'm now helping out with my mother; that I had been sick. It's really funny. I get all this free coaching and I do worse than when I was trying to do it all by myself. And she has a one-track mind. I'm supposed to be eating more fruits and vegetables, walking, getting cardio exercise. I tried to explain that I'm usually on the run at lunch, so I don't have time to sit down and eat the good stuff. I don't get home until late, so I don't have time to go walking. I'm just too tired. I do try to park way away from the stores I go into, so I'll get some exercise there. Then I walk around in the store before I buy anything (that is, if I have time), I've been using 3 lb. weights when I'm sitting around the house to exercise my arms. I really am trying to add a little bit of movement to my day. But, it's just not enough. Eating right also costs more. Fresh fruits and veggies are expensive!

Right before I left work, Mark called me back. I explained about the tree and he said he'd come out sometime on Monday and give me an estimate. He said he'd give me a discounted price. Mark used to work with me and he's a fine Christian man. We used to have a lot of theological discussions. If I had questions about the Bible, I'd ask him to explain it cause he went to seminary and he studies the Bible all the time. I know he and his crew will do a good job. It's sure gonna look funny without that big tree hanging over our house. But, our roof will be able to dry out finally. That's one reason the roof was in such bad shape. It was rotten because it never got any sun to dry it out. I'm sure the mold and mildew problem will be solved, too. That will be a good thing.

I called Daddy to check on him. I haven't seen him all week. He said he was doing fine and didn't need anything. Told me to have a good weekend and he'd talk to me next week. He never calls me on the weekend unless it's an emergency. I forgot to call the doctor to schedule his bloodwork for Monday. I'll have to call Monday and take him on Tuesday. Otherwise, I'll have to cancel his Thursday appointment with the doctor.

Guess I better get to bed. I'm really tired. It's been a long, busy week. Maybe I can sleep in tomorrow. Yeah right. I know that's not happening. I'll be up even though I don't have anything scheduled to do tomorrow (except clean house).

Good night and God bless.................

Great Way to End the Day

Wow! Another hectic day. Kim was out sick, so I didn't get to have our usual sharing time over coffee in the morning. I really miss that. I pray that she is healed and will be back to work tomorrow. And, Lord, make it an easy day for her. Her job is so stressful. I just ask for a peace to fall over her office like she's never felt before. Bless her, Lord.

Since the guys that work at the beach warehouse have been doing inventory and screening applicants for the stockhandlers job, they haven't gotten timesheets to me on a daily basis. They hadn't gotten any to me at all this week. I had plenty to do this morning while waiting for them to be faxed over.

At lunch, I decided to go to Bare Beauty and pick up some makeup. I was about out of my foundation. Can't have that! When I got there, the girl asked if I wanted a makeover to try some new line that they are carrying. I had time, and hey, I need the pampering. So, I sat down and got a makeover. I really liked the makeup, so I decided to give it a try. If I had bought all the stuff she used on me today, it would have been around $300. Nope, that's not gonna happen! I just bought a couple of things to get me by until I can save up some more money. I'll see how I like this before I invest in the whole line.

Mama called to see if I could go to the grocery store for her when I got off work. I said I could, so she gave me a list.

When I got back to work, there was a truck waiting and Paul had gone to lunch. The driver was just sitting on some pallets enjoying the breeze when I walked up. When I found out it was only one pallet to unload and he could do it with his pallet jack, I told him to unload it and I'd sign for it. That much I can do. Paul came up as I was signing the papers and I let him take over. When we got back in the office, one of the linemen called and needed a couple of capacitors delivered. Paul couldn't go right then, so I offered to do it. He loaded them in the warehouse truck and I took off. I used to do this a lot and I really enjoy getting out of the office to carry material out. I didn't have anything to do at the time, cause I was still waiting for the timesheets from the beach. When I got back, Gene was faxing them to me - all 50 pages. That's okay; I type numbers pretty fast. I did have to work over about 25 minutes to get them in, but that was okay.

I left work at 5:00 and called Vance to let him know that I'd be late and where I was going. Went to the grocery store and picked up Mama's stuff and carried it to her house. Sat down and talked with her until almost 7:00.

When I got home, I sort of expected to see the tree limb cut up, but found out that Vance can't get his chainsaw to work. He's taken it all apart and worked on it, but it's not working. I guess he'll have to buy another one. The tree may sit there for awhile. Maybe I should just call Mark and find out how much he will charge to take the entire tree down and cut up that limb along with it. I'll call him tomorrow. I don't want to spend the money on a chainsaw if he can cut it up for us.

The phone rang and it was a girl (lady) that I had done pictures for in the past. I took her wedding pictures several years ago and then she called and asked me to do family pictures for her husband's family (which also happens to be Marsha's family - my friend and beautician). There was probably more than 20 people then and it has grown even bigger since then. She asked if I still took pictures and I said "As long as it's not a wedding." (I had an email today asking if I still did weddings. Told them no.) She said she wanted to get the family together again the end of August or the first of September and get pictures again. I told her I'd be happy to do it. Marsha's family has always seemed like part of my family. I've known most of them since I was in the 8th grade or as they were born since then. They are a lot of fun to work with. She said she'd get back to me on the details.

Vance ate supper and went to bed. I talked to Mama again on the phone, then I ate supper. As I was eating, I turned the TV to TBN. What a blessing! Paula White was on there talking about forgiveness, Carmen sang several songs (I've always loved him), Robert Schuler (Crystal Cathedral) was talking about forgiveness, getting saved and being baptised. He told about Evel Kneivel calling his dad, Bob Schuler, and telling him that he had given his life to Jesus Christ and could he come to his church and give his testimony. He went to the church, gave his testimony and asked to be baptised. They baptised him and about 100 or more that morning in two services. The last person to be baptised was Trigger Gum (I'd never heard of him, but he jumps stuff on a motorcycle like Evel). He ended up getting saved when he heard the testimony and wanted to be baptised, too. How awesome is that!

After talking to Robert Schuler, Paul Crouch, Jr. talked to Gavin and Patti McCloud - again on forgiveness. Theirs is a beautiful story of forgiveness. Gavin divorced Patti without giving her a reason why and would not even talk to her about it afterwards. He led a life of sin while she was getting saved and standing in the gap for his salvation. She even set a place at the table for him every night and prayed for his return. He started thinking about her and eventually called her, went to see her and the rest is history. He got saved, they got remarried and had a show on for years where they ministered to couples. Forgiveness is the key. She could have been very bitter, but she said she asked God to forgive through her because she couldn't do it on her own. That's exactly what Paula White said - that the forgiveness wasn't in her, but through God working in her, she was able to forgive. We all need to ask God to work through us to forgive those who have hurt us.

Paul then showed a clip where he had called Tammy Faye (Bakker) Messner and talked to her. She's got cancer, but she says she has stopped praying for herself and is praying for others. No matter what you think of her (the mascara running when she cries and she was always crying, the scandal of her ex-husband Jim Bakker), Tammy Faye really has ministered to a lot of people. A lot of people are saved because of her. She's says no matter what happens to her, she will win. If she lives, so be it. If she dies, she will just be in the arms of Jesus and there will be no more pain and suffering. She just prays that His will be done. Her son is in Africa working with babies with AIDS. Her daughter has become her hospice nurse and lives with her and takes care of her. Her husband is there with her, too. They are about to move to Kansas City, KS.

It was just a wonderful show tonight. Everybody was talking about forgiveness in some way or another. The hardest person to forgive is yourself. I know that's the truth. Especially if you grew up in an alcoholic home and you are the oldest. You tend to blame yourself for everything that goes wrong. I know I sure did. I still have a tendency to do that today. I have to really watch myself, or I'll say it must have been something I did wrong to make them do that.

Well, since I'm feeling so at peace, I think I'll just go climb into bed. Love you all!
Goodnight and God bless..................

Learn Something New Every Day

Hurried to get ready for work to be there for the safety meeting. It was pretty interesting. We watched a video on how they test our rubber goods - gloves, blankets, sticks - that the guys use when working around the high voltage. Kim was in Ft. Walton in a meeting all day, so I didn't get to see and talk to her.

Gene and Paul had to be on the selection committee to fill a job in the warehouse on the beach, so I was in charge of the warehouse again today. I've got to talk to my boss and see if I can't get set up in their place. That would be about $6.00 more an hour for two days. That would sure come in handy. I'm going to check on that tomorrow. Then, if they would set me up for part of the day to a serviceman, I'd have a fabulous check in two weeks. I had to do the computer work for Paul again today. Learn something new every day - yep, I found out Paul did not get credit for those orders he worked yesterday because I signed in under my name and not his. And, they don't have it in the system where they can do anything to make sure he gets the credit. Why was this never thought of? Oh yeah, I forgot, the people who design the systems we use don't have a clue how we use them.

We had so much trouble today with the ARMS computer program. Learn something new every day - I found out why the productivity is down for the servicemen. They spend the majority of the day trying to get their computers to work properly. I was able to sign off one job around 9:00 and then it locked up the system. Called IT and nobody called me back. I didn't even take a lunch cause I was afraid I'd miss their call and I wanted Paul to get credit for the orders he worked. I was so frustrated that I finally went to my boss and told him what was going on and asked him to come look at my computer to see if he could figure it out. Of course, he's never seen the side we work on, so he didn't have a clue. Paul came in while he was at my computer and finally got the things shut down and rebooted. I tried that three times; even unplugged my computer three times and it wouldn't reboot the system. The IT support guy called just as they corrected the problem. That was around 2:30. It took Paul another hour to input the jobs he had completed today. Yeah, that's why productivity is down.

I got off at 3:30 since I worked through lunch. I was so glad to get away from the office. I had a lot of walk-in traffic for the warehouse that I had to deal with while trying to deal with the computer problem. Didn't have any timesheets to do cause none of the supervisors have signed any in the last few days. Tomorrow will probably be another busy day. I sure hope Paul is there tomorrow to take care of the warehouse. They should have a person picked out for the job on the beach by then. I sure hope so.

I came home exhausted. Almost fell asleep on the couch, so I got up and moved around the house. Went to church. It was really good. Pastor is in the hospital, so our other Sammy preached. It was very good. He preached on revival and how it's not a meeting at church, but it's in our hearts daily. We have to be revived daily, then revival can come to the whole church.

Came home, ate and Penny called. We haven't talked in awhile, so we talked till 11:00. We were both yawning, so she got off so she could go to bed. Since I ate late, and had spicy food, I've got to stay up till at least midnight or I won't be able to sleep laying down. I am so tired, I could sleep sitting up in my computer chair. I'm going to try to go and lay down and see if I can go to sleep without any indigestion problems. If I can't, I'm moving to the couch and propping up with several pillows. I'll sleep one way or the other.

Good night and God bless....................

Too Much Going On

Sure didn't want to get up this morning. Would love to just sleep in some mornings since I don't sleep much at night. But, it was a work day, so I had to get up and go. Stopped for my usual Sonic sweet tea fix. Some people have Starbucks, I have Sonic. But I did notice that a little coffee shop is opening in the Winn-Dixie parking lot. If it's a drive-thru, I'll definitely check it out. If our Starbucks was a drive-thru, you can bet I'd be stopping there every morning. Of course, I'd probably gain a 100 lbs. in a year if I did. There's a lot of calories in those big cups of flavored coffee.

Got to work and Paul had to leave at 9:00 to go to the beach office for an inventory. Now, I just don't understand our company. We are so shorthanded and they send everybody to the beach. Randy is still in Atlanta, so that left me all alone in the warehouse. I am not a warehouseman, but my boss and manager seem to think I'm supposed to do what a warehouseman does when they aren't around. I've got to go to forklift training whenever they offer it. I sure don't want to have to use a forklift and try to load a hugh transformer onto a truck - over my head. Nope, it ain't happenin'. I don't mind unloading our trucks onto the loading dock, but I don't want to load stuff high enough off the ground that I could drop it and tear some real expensive piece of equipment up. You know they'd put me on discipline and probably fire me. Thank the Lord the weather looked like rain all day and nobody really needed anything that I couldn't handle. Actually, it was pretty peaceful with everybody gone. I even waited until noon to go to lunch, because most of the crews know the warehouse doors are closed at noon for an hour.

Late this afternoon, one of the servicemen called and said he needed me to sign off some orders for him. He had to switch trucks and this one didn't have a computer. Since somebody forgot to load them on my computer, he had to call DOC to get them loaded. I found out some interesting info from him that I didn't know. With the linemen, I can call up an order and complete it immediately. With a serviceman, you accept the order, wait one full minute, arrive at your destination, wait five full minutes before you can complete the order or it will not be credited to your truck. That is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. If a serviceman works the job faster than five minutes, he gets penalized for entering it into the computer. They constantly harp on productivity, but they put these stupid rules in place? Who's thinking up these things? I had five orders to complete. It seemed to take forever to do it. I had to time myself with each order. If I had done it my normal way, he would not have gotten credit for the orders. Tomorrow, I'm going to call DOC and see if I can complete them faster, since the virtual truck is in my name and not a serviceman's name. He would still get credit, cause I enter his name and radio number in the remarks section before I complete a job.

I called and made my mammogram appointment. All you ladies out there, be sure and get those mammograms. It's important. I go every six months cause I've had some problems in the past. No cancer, thank the Lord. Both my grandmothers had breast cancer, so I try to get checked as often as the doctors tell me to. It's also time to make my dermatologist appointment. I think I missed my full body scan last year and I've got a couple of moles on my legs that need to be looked at. The dentist is next. Got a tooth that has gotten real sensitive to hot and cold lately. It's been almost two years since I've seen her and I was always so diligent about going every six months before Daddy got sick. I just hate to take the time off when I'm gone so much already. I think I need to see about this bone spur in my left sinus cavity, too. It's beginning to hurt again and the left side of my face stays swollen a lot. I was supposed to have surgery last March. I feel like I'm falling apart. But, I really feel pretty good most of the time now that I've got my strength back from the pneumonia. Still can't figure out how I managed to get pneumonia. I need to stay in prayer more for myself. I tend to pray for others, but leave myself out. And nobody is going to pray for me if they don't know I need prayer. God knows the things that are wrong with me, but He says we are to pray and ask Him for what we need. So, right now, I'm praying and asking you Lord to heal my body from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I give You praise that I am healed.

Took a few more pictures of our tree. I was looking up at the tree and I believe the Lord guided that limb down where it would do the least amount of damage. If it had fallen to the West, it would have crashed through our roof. It also missed our A/C unit. I am sooo thankful for that! I looked up into the tree and the only way it could have fallen was straight down, then to the North. I believe it was a limb that stuck straight up in the air and fell straight down, then layed down. If it had been a limb that stuck out to the side, it would have broken other limbs as it fell. You would just have to see it for yourself. I tried to take pictures to prove my point, but they just don't show what I see with the naked eye. God had a hand on that limb and I thank Him for protecting our house. But, we have got to get the tree taken down. There's another big piece of the tree that sticks straight up that looks like it has been struck by lightning and it will be coming down before long. It's the part that this big limb broke off of. You can see it in the picture above right.

Had Praise and Worship practice tonight. It came another downpour while we were there. When I got home, Vinnie was still shook up. He just does not like thunder and lightning anymore. When he was a puppy, he would lay out in the middle of the yard during storms, but not anymore. He cowers under the bed, under the toilet or gets as close to Vance or me as he possibly can; shaking the entire time. You just cannot calm him down until it's over. He may be 13 years old, but he's still got a pretty strong heart.

Speaking of Vinnie, he is bugging me to let him out. Now, that was funny. He wanted out until he heard water dripping off the roof, then he started backing up. I had to force him to go out. He is not a happy camper. :o) Yep, he's already scratching at the door to get back in.

I think it's time I started getting ready for bed. Goodnight and God bless.................

Yeah! We Got More Rain!

Back to the old grind again. Weekends just pass by way too fast. But, I'm very thankful that I have a job that I really like.

Had to have my sweet tea fix first thing this morning. I poured myself a cup (Sonic 44 oz. cup, recycled) and promptly left it on the table by the door when I walked out. I can't tell you how many times I've done that. You see, I always seem to have so much to take with me when I'm walking out the door. No, not just a purse. I have to carry my camera bag - it goes with me everywhere. Then, because it's Monday, I had bottles of water and yogurt to carry to put in the fridge in my office. So, I forgot my tea. No problem. I pass right by Sonic on my way to work. I just swing in there and they bring it right out and I'm on the road again.

Sat down and talked to Kim about our weekends. She and the granddaughters went to Destin to the beach to visit with her brother and his family. They had a great time.

Randy is in Atlanta all this week in meetings for a new warehouse program that will be implemented later this year. Paul was pretty busy.

At lunch, Kim had errands to run, so I went to PoFolks and got us a salad and brought it back. It was her idea and it was so good. I went to my office and ate in the peace and quiet. I had brought a book with me to read and I have to tell you, I came to one part and laughed so hard I was crying. It was hilarious! Kim had given me the book, so I had to call her and tell her about the part I was reading. I just about couldn't get the words out; I was laughing so hard. If you get the chance, you have to read this book " RV there yet?" by Diann Hunt. She's a Christian fiction writer. It is a great book. There are several more parts of the book that will make you laugh out loud. Just what the doctor ordered - laughter doeth good like a medicine......

Went over to the Credit Union to get some money and while I was there, it started raining. No, I take that back, it started pouring. I got soaking wet going across the parking lot to my office. Good thing I just washed my hair this morning and let it go curly. I just took some paper towels and dried it a little and it just looked curly and messy as usual. But, my clothes were soaked. We really needed the rain, so I didn't mind getting wet.

When I got home this afternoon, Vance showed me a limb in our backyard. It is a huge limb and it fell out of the big oak tree right out our backdoor. The limb hit the edge of the roof. It did a little damage as you can see in the picture. You can see the size of it by these pictures. We really need to call somebody and have the whole tree taken down before it falls on the house.

After I took the pictures of the tree, I printed them out along with some pictures I had taken last weekend of Mama with Hope and Trent. Then, I went in the living room to finish reading the book that had me almost rolling with laughter at lunch. Vance was replacing the windshield wipers on both cars.

We decided not to eat chili tonight (since we've had it the last two nights and Vance ate it for lunch today). I called PoFolks and ordered us supper. Went and picked it up, ate and finally finished the book. Like I said, you've got to read this book.

Now, it's time for me to go to bed. Goodnight and God bless...................

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. It's your day - hope you enjoy it.

Went to church this morning. Pastor Sammy was out sick, so Mrs. Sandi preached his sermon. Of course, it was about fathers. Chad was there with Tabitha and the kids. We had a couple of men who came by themselves. Never seen them before. I got to speak to one of them, but didn't get his name. It was great seeing new faces. There were several more, too.

As I was on my way home (stopped at Sonic to get lunch and a 44oz. sweet tea), Trent called to see if he and Hope could come over and work for me. He's trying to earn money to go to a Christian Camp next month. I think he needs about $200 and he's only got about $40 so far. Since I didn't get to the bathroom yesterday, I told him he could clean my tub. He was cool with that, so I turned around and went to their house to pick them up. We had to go back to Sonic to get them some lunch. We ate our lunch and then I handed him a Magic Eraser and he set to work on the tub. Hope had to take turns, too. She didn't want to be left out. I went in my room to change clothes and when I went back to the bathroom, Hope had lipstick all over her mouth. I had to stop and take pictures of that. Then, I got them to sweep the floor (I'll mop it later this afternoon). I paid them $5.00 each. They played for a few minutes, then Trent said they needed to get home and do some things for their Dad since it is Father's Day. I thought that was very sweet of him to think of Chad. I took some pictures of them before they left. Some of Hope talking on the phone to her mother telling her what they did and that they'd be home in a few minutes, then some with Vance or PawPaw.

Trent found an old picture of me with Vance and Chad when they were teenagers. He asked if he could have it. I gave it to him. Then, he wanted a picture of himself that he could hang on his wall. We came to the computer and looked through the pictures in his file and he picked one out of him escorting a little girl at the football homecoming game all dressed up in his football uniform. I printed it out and put it in a frame for him. Hope wanted one of her and Trent with Grandma (my mother), so I printed one out and put it in a frame. I gave them some more pictures to carry with them.

I took them home. Tabitha was taking a nap, so I visited with Chad for awhile. Took some pictures of him and the kids before heading back home.

I just wish I could have been with Vance on his first Father's Day. He's such a good Daddy. I'm so very proud of my boys. They are such good fathers.

Came back to the house and Vance was taking a nap. I printed out the pictures I took today. I really need to make a scrapbook page. I've got to get back into scrapbooking. I've got so many stories that need to be told and I'll forget them if I don't do something with them now.

Well, it's time to go mop the bathroom floor, then I've got to work on cleaning up this room. I've brought so many boxes of pictures in here to scan that I don't have room to move around in. I think Vance is up from his nap. Gotta run................

Went to the drugstore to pick up my prescription. Vance asked me to go to the grocery store to get ice cream. He and I both are craving ice cream lately. Michelle called as I was getting in the car to come home. We talked for a long time. She wants me to come over one weekend in August to watch Fox when Vance is at church while she goes away with some friends for a birthday party. Sounds like a lot of fun for both of us. Of course, I'll go. I'm looking forward to it. While we were on the phone, Vance was talking to his dad. I talked to him when they got through. This is his first Father's Day. That's so exciting.

Vance fixed a pot of chili yesterday. It is so good. I had to eat early so it would have time to settle. Didn't want to be up most of the night. Speaking of night, I'm tired and I'm going to bed.

Goodnight and God bless...................

Boy, It's Hot!!!

Couldn't even get to my blog last night. Don't know what is wrong with my computer. It is sooooo slow. It took me 17 minutes to scan three pictures, then I couldn't do anything with them. I just gave up. Couldn't check my email. My monitor kept going off every 4-5 minutes and staying off about 2 minutes. It was very frustrating.

Well, I've finally gotten to stay home on a Saturday without being sick. I have been sweeping and mopping. Now, I'm taking a break. I got too hot and almost got sick. Guess I didn't have the A/C cranked down low enough. Or, it could be because I haven't done anything physical in over a month. I'm exhausted!!

The dogs are mad at me. They are tearing up the backdoor trying to get in. But, I don't want them tracking on my floors. They will just have to get over it.

Yesterday, for lunch, Kim and I tried out a restaurant downtown. We never go downtown, so we didn't even know it was open. Actually, there are over 10 restaurants that we could try. Anyway, this one is Cassandra's Place. The food was delicious. It was good Southern homecooking at it's best without all the grease. It was buffet, all you could eat and since it was Friday, there was seafood on the menu. There was popcorn shrimp, fried fish, salad, black-eyed peas, creamed corn, big lima beans, rutabagas, fried cornbread (YUM) and other stuff that I can't remember. Plus, several desserts and great sweet iced tea. Old-fashioned atmosphere; you just can't beat it. They are open for breakfast and lunch. We ran into a guy from church coming out, several members of the School Board were meeting and eating and a couple of guys from where we work. So, it has to be a great place to eat. We will definitely go back. It's run by a family and they were so friendly. Yep, I'll be going back there.

Yesterday after work, I went grocery shopping for Daddy. I sat down and visited with him for over an hour since I haven't seen him all week. I was beginning to worry that I might have offended him in some way, but he said he's been staying awake all night and sleeping all day. That's why he hasn't called. Just so long as he's okay.

I finally found somebody at church who can wear my size 8 clothes. That's my next chore - going through my closet and pulling out those clothes to take to church with me tomorrow. I just didn't want to take them to Goodwill; I wanted to find somebody who I knew could wear them. They are really good clothes. One day, I'll be back to that size, but why let them sit in my closet when I could use that space? I am trying so hard to stop being a clutterbug, but it's really hard. I got it honest. You should see my grandmother's house and my mother's house. But, I'm really wanting to get things in order in our house. I want to paint and change rooms around. Vance will hate that. He likes things just the way they are. He's not cool with change. I tried to rearrange the living room, but there's only one way it can be set up as long as the TV cable is in one spot. Everything has to revolve around that. I'm thinking about going with Knology for cable, phone and computer hook-up. If so, I'm going to get them to either give me an extra, extra long cord or move it to another wall. I so want to rearrange my living room. It's beginning to bore me. But I can't even call them until I de-clutter my rooms, especially my computer room. They can't even get to the back of my desk to hook anything up. That's my next room to conquer. It's just going to take some time to get it all done. I don't work very fast because I'm so disorganized. I tend to tear up my whole house when I try to clean. So, I'm trying to take a little at a time and go through and either keep, organize or throw away. I don't see how those shows get it all done in just a couple of days. I could never be on Clean House or Mission Organization cause I couldn't decide that fast on what to keep and what to throw away. Just as sure as I threw it away, I'd need it the next week. Believe me, I've done that before!

Well, I've wasted enough time. I need to hit the closet in our bedroom. Now, where did I put those big trashbags? Oh yeah, they're in the window of the spare bedroom where we used them last. Catch you later................

I'm Certified!

Today was my CPR/AED class. I've been taking it every year for the last two decades. It's amazing how many times CPR has changed in all that time. And it changed again from last year. Now, you don't check for a pulse (total waste of time) when you find somebody unconscious. Now, you do 30 compressions to every two breaths. I just pray that I never, ever have to use it on anybody. It was a 3 1/2 hour class. The line service guys are going through a CPR/AED/First Aid class that lasts all day. They have a former Marine Drill Sargent teaching their class and he's so loud that I thought there was an altercation in the assembly room Monday morning. Then, I saw that it was him. He was my instructor last year. You definitely do not get sleepy in his class and he keeps you entertained with all his stories. But, I was glad I had the short version this year. It's something everybody should learn, especially if you have children.

I was pretty busy all afternoon, but it just flew by. Got all my work done except the Transmission timesheets. I get them right before time to go home, so I leave them for Friday. I get a whole week's worth, but that's only about 6-10 timesheets, so it doesn't take too long to enter them.

No rain today. I had heard that we were supposed to have some this afternoon, but it didn't happen. We still need more rain to get us out of the drought condition.

Right before I left to go home, I went down to check and see if there was anything in my basket since my boss will be out of town tomorrow. Nope. Went in the bathroom and was talking to Mary. We haven't seen each other in a couple of weeks. She didn't know that I had pneumonia, but she had come in the bathroom the first week I got sick because I was coughing so bad she wanted to make sure I was okay. I told her that I was over it, but just couldn't get my strength back. She prayed for me. I have to tell her that it worked. I came home and started cleaning house, which I just haven't had the strength to do.

I called Daddy before I left for work, cause I was supposed to go buy groceries for him and he hadn't called and given me a list. When I got him, he said to wait until tomorrow. He just isn't sleeping at night, so he slept most of the day today. I sure hope he's okay. Of course, Mama said she's not sleeping good at night either.

I came home and started cleaning the dining room. I've got so much craft stuff, books, photos, etc. in there. No dining room table cause we haven't eaten in there in years. Maybe eventually it will be a dining room again, or maybe it will just be my craft room. Vance wouldn't eat in there. He eats in his recliner. I found some more pictures that I want to scan. That room is full of pictures! I would love to get cabinets like you see in those really nice craft rooms and get all my stuff organized. Then, maybe I could scrapbook like a normal person.

Mama called to tell me that there was a bad accident down the street from her. She heard the sirens and saw all the traffic backed up in front of her house, so she went out to see what was going on. She said a van or SUV was turned over in the ditch. They took somebody to the hospital in the ambulance. We've been having some pretty bad wrecks around here lately. Our traffic has just gotten so bad. Our roads just aren't equipped to handle all the traffic and people get impatient and get into accidents.

My Aunt Rose called today. My grandmother's estate still hasn't been settled. Our attorney (Daddy and Rose's attorney) will meet with Bett's attorney, my uncle and cousin next week before a judge. We don't have to be there. I wish they would settle it so Daddy and Rose could stop worrying about getting shafted. That's already happened. They just need to forget about it and get on with their lives. It's a shame to see how stuff like this tears family's apart.

It's only 9:30, so I guess I will scan some photos before I go to bed.

Goodnight and God bless......................

More Rain Today!

Had to be at work early cause of the safety meeting. Why is it that I never remember to take off early on the days I go in early? I'm so in the habit of getting off at 4:30, that I stay until 4:30 or after, usually after.



Had to send an email to the beach supervisor to let him know that I was still waiting on the timesheets. Finally got them after lunch. I got them all entered before I left. That's a relief, cause I have AED/CPR training all day tomorrow.



I went to Sonic and got a chicken sandwich and couldn't eat but half of it. I got a rootbeer float. That's not a good thing. I have been off carbonated beverages for about 10 years. I sure don't need to get started back. It started raining after lunch. We sure do need the rain.



Mama called several times today. I had to pick up her medicine after work and she wanted a few things from the grocery store. I was concerned about Daddy because he usually calls me every day and he hasn't needed anything this week. I called him when I started to leave work to let him know that I would be in a meeting all day tomorrow and to just call and leave me a message if he needed anything. He said he would need me to go to the store tomorrow. He hasn't been sleeping at night, so he's been sleeping all day. His legs are really bothering him. He said we needed to go over to Grandmama's house and get the walker and wheel chair. His cane just isn't supporting him anymore and he's falling a lot. There's really nothing the doctors can do except neck surgery and he's not about to have that. He said he was not having any surgery ever again.



I picked up Mama's prescriptions and the few things she needed and carried them to her. Couldn't stay but a minute cause I was supposed to pick Hope up to carry her to church. Tonight is Tabitha's last Wednesday of school. She has her final test tomorrow. She's excited about being able to go back to church. Trent was going to Brandon's church for Vacation Bible School. I rushed home, kissed Vance, brushed my teeth, kissed Vance goodbye and headed to Chad's to pick up Hope. It started raining again. I ran in the house and Hope met me at the door and said she wasn't going to church with me. She said she was going to bed instead. She asked me if I could go to church by myself. I told her I could. She said she was just too tired to go. She wanted to go to bed. She told Chad he needed to find her clothes so she could change. So, I left and went to church by myself. Had to type a couple of songs into the song program in our computer. Learned how to do that. We didn't even have any preaching tonight. The song service was awesome. People were really getting ministered to. It definitely wasn't church as usual. While we were singing, I kept hearing the scripture in my spirit from II Chronicles 7:14 - "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." God is talking to us - the Christians. We have to humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways. We have to be the ones to pray and seek His face, not the unsaved people in the world. I felt like He was saying that we have the power to change this land if we will just come away long enough to stand in the gap and pray for our land and the horrible things that are going on today. Even Christians today look like the world. A lot of them dress in clothes that are unacceptable; women dress in tops that are cut too low, dresses that are too short, and they are becoming stumbling blocks for the men of the church. Men look at them and lust after them in their hearts. What does the Bible say? If you lust in your heart, you've already committed adultery. There are also people in the church who are shacking up together and don't think anything of it. Sometimes, that's because preachers are afraid to hurt somebody's feelings and won't preach from the pulpit that it's wrong. Not our pastor - He preaches the Word of God. He doesn't want anybody to go to hell because they never knew they were doing wrong. I also felt like the Lord was saying that we have ungodly soul ties with some friends and those soul ties need to be broken. If we get around friends and begin to act like them, talk like them and forget that we are God's children, then we need to walk away. If we have talked to them about the Lord and they don't want anything to do with Him, then we need to step away and pray for them, but not hang out with them any longer. Because, in the end, it will be easier for us to fall back into the old ways and then turn our backs on God. Satan puts people in our paths who we think our godly people, but they eventually turn us from God and then we realize that they were only there to deceive us. You might just meet these people in church or they go to another church. Well, like my spiritual father, Pastor Fred, used to say "Sitting in church don't make you a Christian, just like sitting in an oven don't make you biscuit." Not everybody who professes to be a Christian is one. They will want to spend time with you doing the things that you love to do, but they have an ulterior motive. That's to draw you away from God. We've got to get back to the things of God.

I know He was talking to me tonight. I need to delve into His Word more than I do. I need to fast and pray for my husband to get into church. I've got unsaved loved ones who need Jesus. I need to be praying for them every day. I've been slack in praying for them. There are hurting people all around me. I need to reach out to them and let them know that Jesus is the only answer. There are people facing divorce that can have their marriages renewed if they will just turn to Jesus for the answer. There are people who need healing in their bodies and their emotions. Jesus is the answer for that, too. He's our only answer. The only way this world will change is if we change. God calls us to call on Him, humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. Then and only then, will our land be healed, our unsaved loves ones saved.... It's up to us. I want to make a difference. How about you????

Good night and God bless...................
Let Him give you peaceful rest...........

We Got a Little Rain!

Boy, did I have a rough night. Just could not sleep. I'm still coughing a little and real tired during the day, but can't sleep at night. Go figure.....

I was a little busy this morning, since we had ARMS up and running. Haven't received timesheets from the beach since last Thursday. Guess I'm going to have to have a talk with the supervisor out there. It's very important that I get them every day or I will just get bogged down and have to work overtime. And the company sure doesn't want that!

We had a Ladies Meeting at church last night. The men have a meeting at the same time and they were having a fish fry and they invited us to join them. Of course, we did. It was so good! We fixed our plates and went into the Children's Church to meet while they met in the Youth Room. We had a great time of fellowship. We prayed for Deanna. Her little dog, Rascal, went missing and then she found out he got run over. She was so upset. I understand, cause our dogs are like members of the family. I get real upset when something happens to my pets. Vinnie is 13 and Shadow is around 9 or 10. I don't know how much longer we will have them. I am not looking forward to when they pass away. Vance will be devastated. When we went on our last cruise, he had me email Kim everyday to make sure they were okay. Now, that's a bit extreme, don't you think? But, with the kids gone, they really keep us on our toes. They are a lot of fun and they really take care of me when I'm sick. They will not leave my side all day. At the meeting, we talked about starting an exercise class for the women and putting in a walking track around the church grounds. We found out you can get a grant for a walking track if you open it up to the neighborhood. That might be a way to draw people in. The pastor's sister used to own a gym and teach aerobics years ago, so she knows what we need to do. I know I'd go if they offerred it. I hate exercising alone. It would be fun exercising with all our ladies. Mrs. Sandi showed us that she can do pushups like the men can. I was impressed. She's been going to kick boxing for about two years now. She looks good. I loved it when I went, but it's not convenient right now. The time is wrong. If it was later, I would be able to go.

We got a good bit of rain this afternoon. It felt so good just walking to my car and getting wet. We didn't get the really bad weather that some people did. I was thankful of that.

Been having trouble with my computer. Vance remoted into it today and thinks he solved the problem. But, I think I've found out what program is causing the problem. My Print Shop program just would not let me print the scrapbook page I created. It hung up my computer. I finally turned it off (which didn't turn it off because updates had to load). When it finally turned off, I tried to turn it back on and it never would load my programs. I crawled under the desk and unplugged the thing and left it off for about an hour. It was slow coming back up, but at least it let me get on the internet. I don't think I will try printing from Print Shop. Before I tried, I had gone into my Adobe Photoshop and printed out some pictures without any problems. I wish I knew more about computers to be able to diagnose and fix the problems. I still need to install my external drive and back up everything.

Went to Praise and Worship practice. We had a good time learning new songs.

Vance fixed chicken and rice for supper. That was so funny, cause I had been thinking today that I would love to have some chicken and rice. I thought I'd fix some this weekend. I come home from church and he's got it in the oven. It was really good, too. He's such a great husband. He takes such good care of me. He knows how tired I am from all the running I do and he has just taken over all the cooking. I never have to worry about what to cook, cause he's got it covered.

I guess I better try to go to bed and get some sleep. Maybe tonight will be better than last night.
Goodnight and God bless....................

Vance went to visit Mama while I was gone to church to talk to her about her car and the things that have been done to it. He's going to make sure that it is in tip-top shape when we get through borrowing it. He replaced the belts this past weekend and he's going to replace the hoses this weekend. The bottom hose will require him to take a lot out of the front of the car to be able to get to it. I was hoping to go to Vance and Michelle's for the weekend, but that won't be happening now. These hoses have never been changed and the car is a '92. They are showing signs of wear.

When I got out of church a friend from Dothan called me. I had sent her a card and left her a message on her answering machine. She had been out of town. She and I share the same birthday, but I'm 9 years older. We have been friends for about 15 years. She's invited me to go to Dothan to a Gospel Sing the end of this month. Eight women from my sister-in-law's church are spending the night at her house and she wanted me to come. I just might go. I think that would be fun.

Today was my standing appointment to get my hair colored, so I didn't take a lunch so that I wouldn't have to show any vacation time. Kim was good enough to run to Wendy's and pick me up a salad. I ate it between entering timesheets. I had forgotten how good their salads are. I'll have to eat there more often.

Is It Monday Already?

Yep, it's 9 minutes into Monday morning. I went to bed, but couldn't get to sleep so I decided to get up and blog.

I took the kids to see Mama on Saturday. I think she enjoyed seeing them. Took a few pictures of them together. I told Mama that if she would tell me what day she wanted to use her car, I would come by her house and she could drive me to work and go do whatever she needed to do and I'd get Kim to drop me off at her house at lunch to pick up the car again. She told me she didn't need the car (that's not what she said Friday) and that my aunt could take her anyplace she needed to go. Why does she do this to me? I got all worked up for nothing. Didn't sleep all night and felt so rotten when I got up that I only had the energy to sweep. Still didn't get my floors mopped. Will I ever get to take care of my house?

I took the kids through the drive-thru at McDonald's then went to Sonic and got food for Mama and me (have to have that Route 44 sweet tea!). We carried it back to her house, ate and visited a little longer than went to Wal-Mart. I bought the kids a couple of toys and books and we went back to our house. It started raining. Trent and I joked about the wet stuff that was coming down. It's been so long since we've had much rain. Tabitha called and I loaded the kids up and took them home. The rain had stopped until we got about a couple of blocks from their house, then the bottom fell out. We got soaking wet trying to get in the house. I hung around for about an hour waiting for the rain to slow down long enough to get to my car without getting soaked again. Went to Sonic and got more tea and broke down and got a root beer float. I haven't drank any carbonated beverages in almost 10 years, but they have been advertising them and I remembered making them for me and Vance when we first got married. I just wanted to see if they were still as good as I remembered. Yep. It was really good. I could get hooked on those real easy, but I won't. Don't want to start with the carbonation again. It's really bad for your body.

Came back home and started scanning more photos. Vance was asleep in his chair and I didn't want to disturb him. He looked so peaceful.

I didn't take a nap, but we ended up staying up till about 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. I got up at 6:30 and started getting ready for church. Ate breakfast, which I don't usually do on Sunday morning. We had a good service, but we are having some problems with our sound system. We've been hearing complaints the last couple of services about not being able to hear our voices when we sing. We thought we were having great song services because people were getting ministered to at the altars, but it wasn't the songs. It was just a move of God on them. That's really awesome. That's when you know it's not just emotions, but a true move of God.

I came home, ate and took a long nap. I was soooo tired. I still haven't got my strength back after being sick. How much longer???? I just didn't realize what pneumonia does to the entire body, not just the lungs. It wears you completely out.

Now, if I can just get to sleep...... I guess I will try to go to bed again.

Good night and God bless.......................

Woo Hoo! It's Friday!!!

I was so ready for the weekend. It's been a busy week and I'm still not back 100% physically. I tire real easy. Several people have told me that's normal when you have pneumonia. I just want to be able to get back to normal. I'd really like to start exercising a little.

Kim was off today with her sister who's visiting from out of state. It was pretty lonesome without her to talk to. Randy and I had one of the FSR's working in the Warehouse. He has put his name in the hat for the stockhandlers job that is open at the beach, so his boss decided he needed to work one day with Randy to find out exactly what goes on. He and I talked about photographs. He thinks I'm nuts having so many photos. I may be nuts, but I've sure got a lot of memories recorded and I think that's a good thing.

Talked to Mama several times today. I think she wants her car back. She keeps hinting that I've taken her car away from her and she can't go anywhere. Personally, I don't think she needs to be driving yet, since she can't even walk around outside for very long. She would fall out if she was to try to walk around Wal-Mart. I called our insurance company to see if I could rent a car. Found out we don't have that as part of our coverage. Well, we do now. And I also put full coverage back on my car even though it's only worth about $4000. That's $4000 that I could use as a down payment on another vehicle if mine got wrecked. I pray that never happens.

Since they won't furnish us with a rental, I don't know what to do. Vance says it will be the end of July before he gets his truck back. Basically, they are going to have to rebuild it from the ground up. They have to put everything on a brand new frame cause his was bent too bad to use. I really don't have the money to rent a car for that long. It kind of hurt my feelings when she kept talking about her car. I do everything I can for everybody else and when I need help, nobody wants to help. Penny and I have been running errands for Mama, so she's not going hungry (Angie even went and bought groceries for her). My aunt helps out, too. So, she's not going lacking for anything. What I'd really like to do is just carry her car back to her and forget about it, but I have to have a way to go to work. It's way too far to walk or ride my bike. I'd never make it; I'm so out of shape. I guess I could start getting up early and getting Vance to drop me off when he goes to work at 6:00. Maybe my boss will let me change my hours for awhile. But, I don't think that will work either. I would be working overtime everyday cause Vance doesn't get off until 4:00. That would mean I'd be working 9 or10 hours (if I didn't go out for lunch). This is just too much for me to think about right now.

I went to Michael's again at lunch and bought six more 11x14 frames. Wanted to get mats, but they were $2 and $3 each. I'll wait for them to go on sale again. I want to redo the pictures in my living room.

Tabitha called and asked if I could take care of the kids tomorrow while she and Chad have some time together. I told her I'd be happy to if she gave me time to mop my floors. I either haven't been home or I've been sick every weekend for the past 6 or 8 weeks. My floors really need to be mopped. Vance and I sweep several times a week, but I haven't had the chance to mop. Hopefully, next weekend I can start on the bedroom - tearing down wallpaper. I've been saying that ever since Vance finished the floor, but something always comes up. I think I'm going to take the kids to Mama's for a visit and maybe to Vance's mom's if I have time.

I went looking for more photos to scan and found a big box that I started going through. Found some pictures of our friend, Bill and his dad. Bill has gone through a divorce and I figured he didn't get to take any pictures with him, so I got Vance's cell phone and called him. It scared him that I had Vance's phone. I never call him. He thought something had happened to Vance. I apologized for scaring him, then told him about the pictures. I even found the pictures I took of his daughter's wedding, pictures of her showers and first baby. I told him I'd put them all together and he could have them. He was so appreciative; he even offered to pay me. I told him he would be doing me a favor by taking them off my hands. It would free up space for more pictures. (Michelle and Tabitha should be proud that I'm purging something.) I even threw away a lot of pictures that are of people that we don't have connections with - like Tonya's prom dates. I kept the pictures of Tonya, but threw away the ones of her dates. Where they both were in the picture, I cropped around her and I'll scan several pictures of her together on a nice piece of decorative paper. I didn't want to throw away her pictures. They were too beautiful to destroy. That was one thing that I always enjoyed - getting to take her prom pictures. We had fun, didn't we Tonya?

Well, it's that time again - got to head off to bed. I would say dreamland, but I hardly ever dream. I don't think I ever really get into the REM sleep stage.

Good night and God bless....................

Is It Thursday Already?

Been real busy all week. Still scanning photos into my computer. I'm up to over 6600 in the computer right now. Got to back up tomorrow on CD's. Had to go to Sam's and buy another supply on Tuesday.

Yesterday, there was a tragic accident right in front of where I work. Two twins had come in to pay their bill and were running across the street to catch the bus when they were struck by a car. One of the ladies died soon after arriving at the hospital. The other one died today. It was awful. I feel so sorry for their family. Losing both of them is so sad.

Vance said they were going to repair his truck. Will have to replace the frame and the entire front of the truck. He said they estimated it will cost somewhere around $11,000 to fix it. Too bad they didn't total it out. But, at least the repairs are guaranteed for the life of the truck once they finish. I'm still driving Mama's car and I think she wants it back. She's been getting out a little in her yard and she has hinted that she can't go anywhere because somebody has her car. But, at least we are fixing it up while we have it. Vance waxed it and had the A/C repaired. He's going to make sure the spare tire doesn't have a hole in it. Maybe it just has a slow leak. She asked if he could get the oil changed cause it hasn't been changed since she bought the car. He said he would do that Sunday. I hope I can keep it until we get the truck back. I don't think our insurance will pay for us to rent a car.

Today at lunch, I went to PayLess Shoes looking for a pair of black slip-ons for Mama. She had seen a pair that I was wearing and wanted some like them. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where I bought them. I know I bought a couple of pairs of shoes around Easter at PayLess, but I couldn't find any for her. Went to Sally's to try and find some nail polish by OPI called "I'm really not a waitress." They don't sell OPI. Guess I'll have to go to a nail salon to buy some. Thought it all was a wasted trip until I went into Michael's. I found the frames I was looking for and they were on sale - two for $6.00. I bought four cause I had four mats at home to fit them. Then I found 12x12 frames for $5.00 each. You can frame a whole scrapbook page. I think I'm going to make a page for Hope and Trent to hang in their rooms. While I was in the store, I ran into a Nurse Practioner that I used to go to. (I would still go to her if her office would file our insurance.) The last time I saw her was about a year ago - in Michael's. She was in the scrapbooking section. I walked up to her and we started talking about scrapbooks. She has finished 62 already and is working on three at a time right now for her daughters. I haven't finished but a couple. Mine are such a hodge podge of photos and themes that I will never finish one. I'll just keep adding to it. I'm trying to get as many photos scanned into my computer as I can, then I would like to start scrapbooking again. Had some ideas as I was scanning tonight. Just got to put them together. Maybe this weekend I can do a page or two.

Well, it's almost midnight and I said I was going to start getting more sleep. It hasn't happened since I started feeling better. I'm back to my old habit of staying awake most of the night. So, I better try to get to bed and get some rest.

Good night and God bless........................

I'm still coughing a little, but I think I'm getting better. Just real tired. I know I need to exercise. I have good intentions, but just never get motivated enough to do anything about it.

I came home and started scanning more pictures. Then, I printed out pictures to put in the frames and hung them up over the couch. I think I might go back to Michael's tomorrow and buy some more frames while they have them on sale.

Feel Worn Out

What a busy weekend I had. A friend of mine moved Saturday and I promised to help her. Thank the Lord there were four men who came, too. They moved the big stuff and set it in place in her new apartment. I just had to move lamps, linens, etc. She can't do much because she's been sick for a long time. I helped unload kitchen stuff and put it up. Made sure her bed was made before I left so she'd have a place to sleep. I think I used muscles that haven't been used in years. I was so sore when I left her place.

Mama called while I was there and asked me to stop and get her some milk, so that put me late running my errands. I carried the milk to her and visited awhile, then headed home. Vance was home from playing golf. He started waxing Mama's car while I went to Ross to look for frames. Didn't find what I wanted, but I found some black and white toile dishes that I just loved. I bought a teapot, four cups, a plate and a footed bowl. I think I'm going to have to redo my kitchen in black and white. I'd love to find some more pieces. I got all those things for less than $20.

Came back to the house and Vance grilled chicken. I just layed around on the couch. I was so tired and I started coughing again.

Sunday - Church was awesome. We're seeing miracle healings taking place, people getting saved or rededicating their lives. It's just awesome. I didn't get home until after 1:00. After our regular service, some of the young people got up on the platform and started singing. I had to stick around for that. It was great. Just didn't want to leave church. That's when you know God is truly moving - when you just don't want to leave His presence. Forget about food; He's all you need.

I came home, ate a sandwich and layed down to take a nap. Tabitha called and asked me to come over. Her niece had cut her leg and she wanted me to check and see if it needed stitches. I jumped in the car and took off, praying all the way over there. I know how hard it would have been to try to get her sewed up without a parent available. We would have had to wait for Tiffany to drive from Dothan. But, when I got there and saw the cut, I knew she didn't need stitches. Tabitha and I went to the store and got some bandaids with antibiotic ointment already on them and she was good as new. I stuck around and talked to them for awhile. Chad wasn't feeling too good. He was real sleepy and felt like he had a fever when I hugged him goodbye.

When I got home, I washed some clothes and just sat on the couch and watched golf with Vance. I was too tired and sore to do anything else. I realize I'm not as young as I used to be. I can't do a lot of physical labor anymore. I'm too out of shape.

Today was pretty busy at work. I guess it will be from now on. Ran all the bi-weekly reports for the supervisors. Daddy called and asked me to come by and pick up his check and get him some groceries. Mama called about four times today. Bought Daddy's groceries and carried them to him. Stayed and visited awhile. Started getting sleepy, so I decided I better leave.

Got home and decided to start scanning old photos into my computer. Hurricane season is upon us again and I need to get as many scanned as possible so I'll have CD's instead of having to carry huge Rubbermaid containers of photos with us if we have to evacuate. I scanned 179 photos and have about 200,000 to go. I think it's going to take awhile.

I'm tired and I really need to get to bed. Goodnight and God bless......................